Students to protest again for educational reform on February 23

As Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has failed to respond to their call for a debate, organizers of the January 19 student demonstration will hold another protest on February 23, reports index.hu.

On January 19, students protested the poor state of the educational system and submitted a list of 12 + 1 demands for reform. The students called on the government to provide a written guarantee by January 31 that their demands would be addressed. Receiving no reaction from the government, students have now given Orbán until February 7 to face them in a public debate.

“Given that he played an important role in the regime change [of 1989], we now ask for Viktor Orbán’s help in the regime change of the education,” the students’ demand reads.

As Orbán did not react to the students’ demands for a debate, organizers of the January protest announced on Wednesday a new demonstration:

“As it turned out, Viktor Orbán is scared of young Democrats, has disowned his younger self, and dares not debate the students who feel the problems of the educational system with their own skins. This way we will not even be able to get an answer to the question [of] which [of the students’] demands the government considers gibberish.”

According to the organizer of the protest, the government has turned its back on students and the cause of quality education, and for this reason, per their earlier promise, they will march from Budapest’s Deák Ferenc square to the Parliament on February 23.

“Considering the importance of creating up-to-date, quality education, we anticipate the entire country joining us! Let’s meet on February 23! This is our last hope to study in a modern educational system, to work under normal conditions in Hungary, and not be forced to emigrate in search of a livable future,” the statement concludes.